Truck-spring arrangement



$633k. 28 1926. v LfiflLEQQ L. RICHARDSON TRUCK SPRING ARRANGEMENT Filed August 28, 192

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Patents Sept 28, 1926..

LAWRENCE RICHARIISON', OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

$BUCK-SPRHG ARRANGEMENT.

Application filed August 28, 1924. Serial No. 734,591.

This invention relates to a truck spring arrangement. y

In the Pullman truck construction, the rocking of the car is minimized by a special 5 arrangement in which the load is transmitted from the center plate through the H spider bolster, elliptical springs, side frames, helical springs, equalizers to the journal boxes. While such arrangement 10 satisfactory in passenger car trucks, it is too heavy and expensive for freight car trucks.

At the same time, excessive rocking of freight cars is 'to be prevented, among other things, to avoid derailments.

Accordin 1y, one object of thisinventlon is to proyi e a simple, reliable and efiicient truck spring arrangement for minimizing rocking of the car.

\nother object is'to provide a difierential spring arrangement adapted to minimize jhe rocking of a railway car in a manner to meet all of the requirements under service conditions.

These and other objects are accomplished by means of the arrangement disclosed by the single figure of the drawings which is a fragmentary side elevation of a railway car truck embodying my invention.

In this particular instance, the invention is disclosed in'connection with a four-wheel truck, including a side frame 10 having a compression member 11, a tension member 12, bolster columns 13 forming an opening .14 for the reception of a bolster 15 w h1ch is supported upon a spring combination" em bodying my invention.

, In this arrangement, the bolster 1 5- rests directlyupon a plurality of C01 spr1ng s 16 which have a given capacity and eriodicit-y for absorbing shocks and returmng the car to a state of equilibrium; It is found that coil springs as ordinarily used, however, permit rocking which at times becomes ex"- cessive to the extent that a car may be deing, I have provided a spring arrangement in which the coilsprings 16 cooperate witha plurality of ellipticalsprings 17 having a periodicity which differs from that of the coil springs, so that one set of springs Wlll have a difierential action, one upon the other. As shown, the elliptical springs 17 are in the form of curved. lates which are in frictional engagement with each other and are located within ,a suitable housing railed. To overcome such excessive rock 18, which rests upon or forms a part. of a spring plank 19 connecting the side frames. A horizontal plate 20 separates the elliptical springs from the coil springs and forms a. seat for the latter and is pocketed or guided in its vertical movements by the pocket member 18. From the arrangement shown, it will be appreciated that if the coil springs have a given periodicity so that they flex more readily than the elliptical springs, that under the rocking influence of a car body the coil springs 16 will be compressed to a maximum before the elliptical springs of less periodicity fairly start to flex to absorb the shock, and the coil springs will begin .to expand before the elliptical springs have taken on their maximum fiexure for that particular shock. Under the circumstances, it will be seen that the coil springs and the elliptical springs will have a differential action, one upon the other, resulting in breaking up the rocking action of the car and minimizing such action. In addition preferably elliptical springs of the type shown wherein there is frictional engagement of the spring plate members 17 are employed whereby an increased snubbing action is effected because of the frictional engagement of the elliptical spring plate members 17. 35

While I have shown the invention as applied to a four-Wheel truck, it will be understood that the invention'maybe used in conmotion with car trucks having a difierent number of wheels.

I claim:

1. In a railway car truck, the combination of a load transmitting member, and diflerential means for supportingsaid load trans. mitting member and acting in the same di- 95 motion for minimizing rocking of the car and including groups of springs of different character, one of said groups of springs comprising frictional engaging members.

.2. In a railway car truck, the combination of a side frame having a bolster opening, a bolster mounted in said opening, coil springs in said bolster opening upon which said bolster is mounted, and elliptical springs upon which said coil springs are 105 mounted, said coil and elliptical springs having different periodicities for causing a differential action one upon the other for" .minimizing ro'cking of the car.

3. In a railway car truck, the combination of a side frame having a bolster opencoil and elliptical springs having difi'erent ing, a bolster mounted in said opening, coil periodicities for causing a differential action springs upon which said bolster is mounted, one upon the other for minimizing rocking 10 and elliptical spring members having'fricof the car.

tional engagement with each other for in ,Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 22nd day creasing the snubbing action and upon of August, 1924. which said coil springs are mounted, said I LAWRENCE RICHARDSON. 

